Crowds at Spruce Meadows were sprinkled with pink on Saturday as many came dressed for the weekend’s Barbie x Spruce Meadows theme. A variety of Barbie experiences were scattered around the grounds, including the Think Pink Roller Rink, a Dad and Daughter Hair Workshop and Barbie Box photo booths.
Embracing the Barbie Theme
Some, like Rushania Kinzagulova, took the opportunity to go all-out, wearing head-to-toe pink. Most of her outfit, which included baby pink sneakers, glasses and feathered rosettes, was already in her closet. “I’ve been collecting all the Barbie stuff for years,” she said.
Kinzagulova hadn’t yet been approached by judges of the Best Dressed in Pink contest, who were scouting the grounds for the best looks. A total of $20,000 in cash prizes were being doled out throughout the weekend. “I’m looking for them,” she said. “I call them ‘fashion police.'” Contest aside, she was having a great time meeting people in similarly extravagant outfits. “I love it,” she said. “I think it’s a good idea to make a theme, so we have more fun and opportunities to dress up, express ourselves, our creativity and our fashion.”
Natural Link to Barbie
Sarah Ftichar, Spruce Meadows chief of staff, said that’s what it was all about. “It’s fun to see people getting their pink on,” she said. After a successful partnership with Marvel last year, which is continuing this summer, the opportunity for a similar partnership with Mattel presented itself. “Our president, Linda Southern-Heathcott, was like, ‘I want Barbie here because I believe in what Barbie does,'” Ftichar said. “Every generation has a Barbie connection, and that’s really fun.”
The Barbie brand also seemed like a great fit for Spruce Meadows, she said. “The equestrian sport of show jumping is one of the only sports across the board where men and women compete equally, so it’s really unique,” she said. “We’re also a women-led organization, and women-founded, so I think that bringing Barbie into the mix is really natural choice.”
ChangemakeHER Forum
In addition to Barbie experiences around the grounds and around 10,000 Barbie x Spruce Meadows branded bandanas given out, Saturday also featured the ChangemakeHER Forum. The panel featured RedPath Talent founder Marika Sila, ATCO CEO and Spruce Meadows co-chair Nancy Southern, Youth Centres of Calgary founder and executive director Jane Wachowich, and Olympic speed skater Catriona Le May Doan. “We wanted to have a place where we could celebrate really special women in our community and listen to their stories,” Ftichar said. For her, one of the more moving moments was hearing from Le May Doan. “Growing up, we watched her as an Olympian … and then she shared really personal moments of stories of when she didn’t feel that strong,” she said.
